officialmanou

Where do I start? Is it enough said if I’d tell you I could imagine to live there one day? Coming from traveling all these canyons, the desert, the cities such as Las Vegas and Salt Lake City and then you’re arriving at this lake surrounded by huge trees. Houses made out of wood, the people are super nice and the rocks on the lake shaped as round as a perfect ball.

Lake Tahoe is also very famous for their winter season. It reminds me of all the ski resorts in Switzerland 😉

Here is my Tip which spot you definitely don’t wanna miss while visiting Lake Tahoe :

Emerald Bay : Wow! Just wow! Driving through the forest with all these super cute tree houses / camping areas/ hotels / christmas decorated houses (yes, you heard right, Christmas decoration in August) right and left. Then you get on top of the mountain where the view is absolutely breathtaking. If you get a chance to watch the sunset, do it!

Emerald Bay Lookout

Shoes : Bedstu

Jeans : Kancan Jeans

Hat : EcuaAndinoHats

Choker / Necklace : Nomadwest

QUOTE OF THE DAY : “To breathe the same air as the angels, you must go to Tahoe”

September 30, 2016February 14, 2017

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What to know about The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the western Hemisphere. In winter the lake is filled up with water and only the edges are frozen. And in summer, the water level drops and you can actually walk on the lake.

Driving to The Great Salt Lake, there’s a few Tips I wanna give you :

In summer you can walk on the lake BUT it smells extremely bad
when you leave, you’ll be having a lot of tiny bugs in the car (they’re everywhere in the parking lot)
walk out until you see the water, that’s where it’s the most beautiful
be prepared to see a lot of dead birds everywhere
we stopped at The Great Saltair which is a good place you can walk out on the lake

You might think now: after reading all this, why would I even go there? I’m telling you why: Because once you stop being a PUSSY and step outside your comfort zone, I’m telling you : it’s absolutely amazing!! The colors of the water, the sky with the mountains in the background, the whole scenery is breathtaking! I took my shoes off and walked into the lake. It’s not deep at all, it only covers your feet. The ones who watched my LIVE chat on Facebook, they know I almost lost my phone in the lake! I pressed the button GO LIVE and my phone fell out of my hands while walking in the lake. Luckily somehow I caught it and it was safe 🙂 And the fun part: it was all captured on video!

See the pictures below and you’ll understand why you need to go there walking next to dead birds and stinky smells.

Dress : Raelynnsboutique

Necklace : Judith Poe

Earrings : Nomadwest

Perfume : Luxuryscentbox

Water : 3 water

QUOTE OF THE DAY : NOT EVERY LAKE DREAMS TO BE AN OCEAN.

September 26, 2016February 14, 2017

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Where to stay in Salt Lake City

DAY 7

Who has ever been in Salt Lake City before? (Leave your answer in the comment section). Tell me your experience and how you liked it. This was my very first in the City of Mormon. We arrived on a Friday night at the very fancy 4 star KIMPTON HOTEL MONACO in Salt Lake City. Located in the middle of Downtown yet in a super quiet area. The entrance is super cute with 2 little bowls for dogs to drink water. The lobby is very stylish with all these couch corners everywhere. On the way to the elevator they have water with cucumbers and a big bowl with fresh green apples.

Opening the door to the room, the first thing I see: the bed looks way too comfortable. How will I be able to get up in the morning? I already knew I’ll be spending some time in this room since it’s so majestic, stylish and cozy at the same time. Our room was facing the main street and it was Friday night, yet I’ve never stayed in the centre of a city where it was so quiet. We felt like in a town of zombies!

Since they knew I was travelling with my little dog ZUZU, they got us a little dog bed and 2 bowls for food and water. And not just for the furry friends, even for us there is complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby each morning. So if you’ll ever plan on travelling either for work or for fun with or without your little furry friends, this is the perfect hotel you wanna stay at in Salt Lake City.

Outfit : Freddystore

Outfit in Salt Lake City :

Shirt : NXSApparel

Skirt : Cellojeans

Hat : Prana

Shoes : MimiAndLeuleu

Jewelry : Nomadwest & Trezolavi

Sunglasses : Mawl- Sunglasses

September 19, 2016September 20, 2016

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Chipmunk vs Manou at Bryce Canyon

Day 6

After a very cozy night at the DAYS INN in Kanab, we’re heading over to the breakfast room where they have everything from Pancakes, French Toast, Granola, Juices, Bread, Bagel, Donuts, Omelettes, Yogurt, Fruits… We usually ate quite a bit for breakfast since it was difficult to stop somewhere to eat simply because 1) we didn’t have enough time or 2) there was no food to be found within the next 2 hours of driving.

Today we’re going to BRYCE CANYON! Yay! My favorite stop on this entire trip. Before I start, there’s a few things to know about Bryce Canyon.

When you’re driving there coming from the 89 and then the 12, there is a beautiful Canyon called RED CANYON about 10 miles before BRYCE CANYON. A lot of people think that’s BRYCE CANYON but unfortunately it’s not.
BRYCE CANYON has 2 very amazing lookout spots : one is the BRYCE INSPIRATION POINT and the other the SUNSET POINT. If you have the opportunity, you should take time to do both. At the INSPIRATION POINT you’ll get to see how massive and big the Canyon is. And at the SUNSET POINT you’ll have the chance to actually walk down into the Canyon.

We arrived at the INSPIRATION POINT parking lot and went all the way up to the highest lookout. It got so windy, we all had to hold each others hats 😉

When you’re standing there looking at this huge Canyon, it seems unreal. The way it’s shaped, absolutely beyond what you’ve ever seen in your life. We decided to walk all the way from INSPIRATION to the SUNSET POINT.

Can I please mention this cute little “friend” we made when walking into the Canyon at SUNSET POINT? He didn’t bother at all when tourists were taking pictures / filming him how he was eating his dinner 🙂 Now the little thing to remember: what walks down, must walk up again….. Walking from the INSPIRATION POINT is was all kinda down the hill, and now it starts getting cloudy and we have to walk all the way back again. Meanwhile our camera died since we took sooooooooo many photos of this so beautiful scenery so we decided to start walking back to our car again.

Because we had a 4 1/2 hour drive to Salt Lake City, we couldn’t stay for the sunset. Honestly if I wouldn’t have been so exhausted from all the walking we did the last few days, I would’ve stayed another few hours. You can’t get enough of the beauty of this Canyon.

Pants & Top : Freddystore

Shoes : MimiAndLeuleu

Necklace : Judith Poe

Perfume : LuxuryScentbox

Backpack : Sorial

Water : 3 Water

QUOTE OF THE DAY : IT IS BETTER TO TRAVEL WELL, THAN TO ARRIVE (BUDDHA)

September 14, 2016September 15, 2016

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Zion National Park has one of the most dangerous hikes in the world!

And off we go to Zion National Park 🙂

Insider TIP : Zion National Park has a lot of amazing places. But before you go there, make sure you do your research and look up the places you wanna visit. And if you don’t have the time to prepare, already the drive through the Canyon is absolutely gorgeous.

Did you know one of the most dangerous hikes in the world is at Zion? And NO, I didn’t do it 😉 I’m way too afraid of height. Check out the picture below (I don’t own the copyright) from ANGELS LANDING ZION, you might understand why I’m saying : nope, not doing this!

Because of Miss “I’m so scared of height”, we found a super cute little river floating right next to the road. We stopped and had one the most relaxed, fun and enjoyable moments on our trip. Probably it’s because I’m an aquarius, water makes me happy 🙂 I could sit and listen to the sound of waves or water flowing for hours.

We spent about an hour at the river before we saw a dark cloud arriving very fast. The weather changes in all the Canyons can be very dangerous. Especially flash floods, often caused by storms miles away, are a real danger and can be life threatening.

That being said: enjoy traveling but make sure you’re doing your research before planning any crazy hikes!

Therefore we left Zion right on time before the rain came…

Shirt : NXSApparel

Jeans : FreddyPants

Shoes : Bedstu

Jewelry : Nomadwest

Water : 3water

Backpack : Sorial

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September 11, 2016September 12, 2016

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Antelope Canyon : maybe the most beautiful place on earth?

Day 5

It’s 11pm and we’re trying to sleep since we have a 6am Tour at Antelope Canyon. I’m reflecting the things I’ve seen that day : Horseshoe Bend, this huge tourist attraction. When you arrive there, there’s no security, no fence, no guards… Just tourists trying to take the best picture ever for their memory! I’ve seen people stepping out on the very edge of the rocks just to snap a quick photo. A younger woman, terrified of height, yet she stepped out on that tiny little rock to take a picture… When we drove away from the parking lot, we saw these 4 little crosses right beside the road. Crosses with names on it. Names to be remembered of people who got killed at this amazing place. Did they fall down by snapping a picture at a risky spot? Did they get scared when they were standing at the edge and somehow lost their balance? Its midnight and I still didn’t sleep. Too many thoughts about what could have happened if… Should I’ve told this lady not to take the picture? Everything went well but what if not? I’m having a panic attack and can’t stop thinking of the what if’s. I’m extremely scared of height and I believe I’m not the only one. lol. Visiting all these places so far, I’ve seen so many people risking their lifes trying to find that ONE AMAZING SHOT! Is it worth it? Do you really have to prove yourself to everyone and playing the hero taking this picture? NO! You don’t!! Be safe!

It’s 3am and I’m closing slowly my eyes cause in a few hours we’re going to Antelope Canyon which is definitely one of my favorite locations on this entire trip.

5am, alarm goes off! 2 hours of sleep BUT Antelope Canyon Tour is on our schedule! I’m beyond excited cause all the pictures I’ve seen IN the internet were absolutely stunning.

Little insider TIP: If you ever wanna visit Antelope Canyon, you have to book a tour. Otherwise you won’t be able to get in by yourself to go look at it. All of these tours sell out very fast. We did the “Scenic Upper Canyon” Tour with ANTELOPESLOTCANYONTOUR. Our tour guide Hernes was super cool and even took pictures with our phones for us. See below to get an idea of how magical this place is :

Dress : RaelynnsBoutique

Shoes : MimiandLeuleu

QUOTE OF THE DAY : LE PLUS BEAU VOYAGE, C’EST CELUI QU’ON A PAS ENCORE FAIT. (LOICK PEYRON)

September 8, 2016

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Have you ever stood on the edge of Horseshoe Bend?

Now we’re heading to Navajo Bridge. There’s one important thing to know: fill up your tank with gas!!! We were so lucky that we had it filled up cause you won’t find any gas station sometimes for 2-3 hours driving through nothing but desert or forest.

NAVAJO BRIDGE is very impressive and not a lot of people know of it or simply don’t wanna take the time to stop there. All you need is 15-30 mins to visit. It was enough time to get out of the car and walk around after driving all these hours every day.

Pants : Freddystore

Backpack : Sorial

Water : 3 water

Hat : Ecua Andino Hats

Shirt : NXS Apparel

Metallic Tattoos : Shopmodernboho

Belt : C4belts

After a quick stop we drove to our so far favorite spot: HORSESHOE BEND! Where should I start? HORSESHOE BEND is unreal, immense and very incredible. It’s beyond beautiful and I really don’t have words to describe how pretty it is. If you EVER have a chance to travel in your life: write this on your TO DO list 🙂

A few Tips when you go there: bring good shoes, the walk from the parking lot to the actual place where you’ll be taking pictures at is about 15 mins. There’s a lot of tourists, make sure you’re calculating enough time. Be very careful if you wanna bring your kids there, there’s no barricade or anything. You’re literally standing on the edge of a 1,000 feet ( 305 m) drop into the Colorado River.

We spent a good amount of time there before heading to the Hotel. Today is supposed to be an early night since we have a 6am Tour for Antelope Canyon. But what happened at night: you’ll see in my next blog 😉

Shoes : Mia Shoes

Shorts : Clockhouse

Shirt : NXS Apparel

Jewelry : Nomadwest

Sunglasses : Mawl Sunglasses

Jewelry : Judith Poe

Watch : Mockberg

Jewelry : Tjazelle

Metallic Tattoo : Shopmodernboho

QUOTE OF THE DAY : LIFE IS NOT MEASURED BY THE NUMBERS OF BREATHS WE TAKE BUT THE NUMBER OF MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATHE AWAY.

September 6, 2016September 11, 2016

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The powerful Grand Canyon

Day 4

Coming from Vegas where there are so many people everywhere; basically the entire city is having a party, then driving a few hours through desert and then you’re in the middle of the forest. We’re arriving at the Days Inn in Williams (AZ). Such a beautiful place, so peaceful and quiet. Everyone is very friendly. The rooms are very neat and clean. If you have time, take a swim in the pool and jacuzzi. I can very much recommend this hotel. Just make sure you book early, especially during summer time. Grand Canyon hotels can be very expensive and get sold out super fast since it’s such a popular tourist attraction for people all over the world.

Once settled into the room, we’re going to eat at the the restaurant “Kicks ON Route 66 Bar & Grille” (http://www.williamsazrestaurant.com/home) which is right next to the hotel. Honestly that was the best food I had on the entire trip. Staff is so friendly and you’re getting warm bread with homemade herb butter as soon as you sit down.

In the morning, we’re getting up early to have a great breakfast before we head over to the Grand Canyon. When we left the hotel I was worried it would be full of tourists. But Grand Canyon has so many lookout points, there’s enough room for everyone to take a great photo. Don’t forget, there is an entrance fee to get into the Canyon : 30$.

Backpack : Nicole Lee Usa

Hat : Ecua- Andino

Shirt : North By South Apparel

Pants : FreddyPantsUSA

Shoes : Mimi And Leuleu

Sunglasses : Sequin Sand

Belt : C4Belts

Metallic Tattoos : Shopmodernboho

Perfume : Luxuryscentbox

QUOTE OF THE DAY : Live for the moments that take your breathe away.

August 22, 2016September 20, 2016

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Road Trip First Stop : LAS VEGAS

DAY 1

It’s Sunday morning, we’re leaving Los Angeles for our 14 days Road Trip. First destination: LAS VEGAS. And with “we” I mean my amazing boyfriend Chris who happens to be my photographer, my little dog “Zuzu” and I:)

After 3 hours we arrive at our first location “7 MAGIC MOUNTAINS”. Getting out of the car was not that easy after having a nice drive with air conditioning. Welcome to 109 Fahrenheit (43 degrees)!

Around 3pm we’re arriving at our Hotel Planet Hollywood which is in the middle of the world famous Las Vegas Strip. The Hotel is super busy, lots of people everywhere, Casino players, drunk people right and left, girls who can barely walk in their heels, tables full of gamblers….

We’re opening the door to the Hip Hotel room! Wow! 2 super comfortable queen beds, huge bathroom with 2 sinks, an amazing view of the Bellagio Fountain and the Strip! Did I mention our room is on the 34th floor, just one floor underneath the highest one? And of course we couldn’t wait until it’s dark to see all the lights on the Strip.

DAY 2

On Monday I thought I was going to melt. Honestly I felt like an asparagus baking in the oven at 110 Fahrenheit. And no, it wasn’t just me. There were a lot of different asparagus in the oven;)

That day we walked 12.4 miles (20 km). Can you imagine?? I know… me neither! I have no idea how I did that. But hey I’m still alive!! Yay!

Because it was so hot I chose my outfits wisely for this trip. For Vegas, it is always very wise to bring at least 1 dress. And this one below was my choice: a dress by RAELYNNSBOUTIQUE. Very light for the summer. You can either wear it with some flats or some cute high heels.

Outfit :

Dress : REALYNNSBOUTIQUE

Shoes : MIMIANDLEULEU

Bag : NICOLELEEUSA

Sunglasses : MAWL SUNGLASSES

DAY 3

Hoover Dam and Nelson Ghost Town is on the schedule. Hoover Dam we couldn’t get out of the car since it was too packed and it was too difficult to take pictures at. So we decided to spend more time at the Ghost Town. Absolute amazing place for photoshoots. The people are super friendly, very easy going and it has way too many locations to take great pictures at.

OUTFIT :

Dress : REALYNNSBOUTIQUE

Boots : BEDSTU

Sunglasses : POLETTE

Jewelry : NOMADWEST

In the late afternoon we drove to Williams, AZ where we went to go visit Grand Canyon the next day. But more about that in my next blog…. Stay tuned!

August 7, 2016

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What to do when you’re stuck?

Sometimes we think we’re meant to be someone or do something. We have no patience cause we want it tomorrow. We force everything in our power to get there as fast as we can. We sacrifice friends, family, our lives and souls just to get “there”. Then we have rocks that block our path, we go around, and around, and around, and around…. Until the rock is too big.

We get shattered and are forced to stop. We reflect on what happened, we think: why did this happen to me? Time flies and months are passing by… Since then, we just have fun and enjoy our life cause that’s what makes us happy. Out of this happiness we start walking a new path. A path that you walk because you want to, because you love it, because it’s fun and it makes you smile every time you walk it. No worries about the future because all that matters is the NOW, no rush, no lies, no what if… Just the real you!

My name is Manou- or should I say Manuela? Cause that’s the name my parents gave me when I was born. This is my story and I’m so happy I’m not walking this path alone. No! I’m walking this path with all of you guys. Every single one has supported me so much and it means the world to me how all of you changed my life! Thank you so much!

And remember : if this big rock wouldn’t have hit me and I wouldn’t have been shattered, I would’ve never changed my path. I would’ve never felt what life is really about. I would’ve never enjoyed every single day 100%. And when I say 100%, I mean 100%. You wake up with a smile, you eat healthy, you spend the day, you have good and real friends, you go to bed and reflect of how beautiful life can be…

I hope I can inspire you with my story and help you walking your path as well; the path of happiness & not the path of “I want this so bad”

Have a happy Sunday and maybe take the day off to just enjoy and

do whatever makes you happy

Kimono : Ble Clothing

Shoes : Bedstu

Bikini Top : Jesilis Swimwear

Jewelry : NomadWest

Shorts : DIVIDED by H&M

August 4, 2016August 4, 2016

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In the desert with Blé Clothing

After 2 hours of driving, we left the freeway to drive towards Rainbow Basin. We pass a typical american small town of nothing but Motels, Biker & Liquor Stores and here and there a person walking down the street.

More and more we’re getting into the desert. It’s 110 degrees ( 43 Celcius), no human being, no animals (well they were probably scared of the smell of my perfume 🙂 ), no noise… Just us and this amazing scenario of mountains and desert!

Prepared with lots of water, an emergency kit and food, we start the shoot for the

FALL COLLECTION of BLÉ CLOTHING!

BLÉ CLOTHING is all handmade and very good quality. I loved to dress up more bohemian for this shoot but you can easily wear some cute high heels or boots instead and make it more classy looking. BLÉ CLOTHING has anything from lace pants to very stylish kimonos, cute tops and very fun dresses.

But for right now, go and enjoy this beautiful clothing line!

Which one is your favorite? Leave a comment 🙂

Top : Ble Clothing

Choker : DirtyGlam

Hat : Prana

Boots: ZooShop

Lace Pants : Ble Clothing

Top : CosmoAndNathalia

Necklace : JohnnyLovesJune

Dress : Ble Clothing

Necklaces : JohnnyLovesJune & Dieselboutique

Top : Ble Clothing

Jeans : Cello Jeans

Shoes : Faryl Robin

Necklace : Adornaddict

Watch : KaptenAndSon

Dress : Ble Clothing

Shoes : Faryl Robin

Choker : SeamaidMarket

Lace Pants & Kimono : Ble Clothing

Top : SeaAmethyst

Choker : DirtyGlam

Lace Skirt : Ble Clothing

Crochet Top : SeaAmethyst

Shoes : Forever21

Hat : Rea Lynns Boutique

Dress : Ble Blothing

Shoes : BullboxerShoes

Dress : Ble Clothing

Shoes : BullboxerShoes

Necklace : TrezoLavi

Choker : DirtyGlam

Dress : Ble Clothing

Sunglasses : Poletta

Hat : EcuaandinoHats

Choker : DirtyGlam

Kimono : Ble Clothing

Jeans : CelloJeans

Crochet Top : SeaAmethyst

Boots : Deichmann Shoes

Hat : TitanicBoutique

Necklace : Fill4Style

July 29, 2016February 1, 2017

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so swiss and always on time

Yes it’s true. Swiss people are the most conservative people I know.

We have a thousand rules we follow all the time. Super polite, very friendly, some people might call us neutral BUT the most important part: WE ARE ALWAYS ON TIME. And with always, I mean ALWAYS. If you’ve been in Switzerland or you’re planning on going there anytime in the near future, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

If you’re meeting a friend for coffee and the swiss person is running 3 minutes late: THEY WILL CALL OR TEXT saying that they’re running 3 minutes late and that they’re very sorry about that.

Now let me tell you: since I moved to LA 6 years ago, I can probably count with 2 hands, how many times people were actually early or on time. Here in LA, being late for 30 minutes is normal. Unless it’s a dinner meeting, then they’re 1 hour late. Period.

So go figure why the Swiss people love wearing watches 😉

I can’t be without a watch. Why? Because…. yes… you got it right… I’m SWISS! LOL!

Therefore I got this beautiful and stylish watch from Mockberg. Mockberg is a brand born in Stockholm (Sweden), a country where all the beautiful blonde and blue eyed people are from. Seriously, I’ve been in Stockholm myself. It’s such a cute city with lots of creative people.

So if you ever wanna go to Europe, you have to go visit Switzerland and Sweden. The 2 countries that people here in LA always get messed up with for some weird reason.

Watch : Mockberg

Bracelets : Alexfeinwerk, Tjazelle, Laialjewels

Rings : Dieselboutique, TheFaintOfHeart

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July 21, 2016July 29, 2016

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Star in Hollywood

Hi there,

My name is Manou. I’m a former Disney artist from Europe. Living in LA gave me the opportunity to follow my huge passion for fashion. I started working with a lot of companies together but all of them wanted to see more of my creativity.

So I decided to start a blog. And here you are, reading my first blog entry ever:) Yay!

Welcome, enjoy and don’t hesitate to leave a comment to let me know how you like it!

Okidoki!

Now let’s get started with these comfortable and super cute lace pants from BleClothing. They’re perfect for the summer and you can either combine them with something very elegant and chic OR do it like I did and make it more natural and bohemian style looking.

For the shoot, I went to the Bronson Caves at Griffith Park. The Bronson Caves are very famous for several TV series that got shot there : Batman, Star Trek, The A – Team, Twin Peaks etc Not to mention the great view of the Hollywood Sign you have while walking around the area:)